


Trigonometry

by Aesoleucian



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: M/M, Multi, plus some other characters that aren't really relevant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-06
Updated: 2014-03-06
Packaged: 2018-01-14 19:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1277695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aesoleucian/pseuds/Aesoleucian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Smokescreen already stole Bulkhead’s friends and his place on the team—and now his boyfriend, too? Okay, ex-boyfriend, but that's not the point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trigonometry

**Author's Note:**

> Closing the love triangle has always been my preferred way to resolve things. Why date one loser when you could date TWO losers?

The worst thing you could do to a Wrecker was make him unable to fight. Bulkhead had never felt this bad in his life, and he’d lived through Tyger Pax. It was infinitely more frustrating watching Miko try to be cheerful for him as she encouraged him to do leg exercises, while he knew she’d rather be dune-bashing or playing the guitar or drawing dubious pictures of monster trucks. Although he had to admit, her improvised workout song was pretty good.

Then he found out that there was something way worse: replacing a lame Wrecker with a peppy young idiot who thought he was destined for greatness. It was worth some of the humiliation it cost Bulkhead, limping out to show off his injuries, to watch Smokescreen’s enthusiasm die right there on his face.

Had he thought it couldn’t get worse? The rookie was actually competent, that was the kicker. All Bulkhead could do was glare at the kid while everyone patted him on the back for saving their lives, and stomp off to sulk. Of course, Miko ran after him. If he hadn’t been so angry at everything he would have appreciated it more. Usually when she put her tiny hand on his leg and said, “Bulk?” his spark just about melted. Right now, he didn’t want any pity, so he just mumbled, “Go ‘way, Miko.”

“Aw, c’mon, Bulk! You’re still number one! We’ll get you back on your feet in no time, and then you can show old Smokey who’s the boss.”

“Thanks for trying, honest, but you’re just making it worse.” He looked away so he wouldn’t have to see her face—which was pointless because he couldn’t help imagining it in every detail. He felt a vague tickle on his foot, and glanced down to see that she was sitting on it, back braced against his shin. She didn’t say anything for a while, just sat there until Ratchet came in and told her to go home.

“Bye-bye, Bulkhead,” she murmured, leaving one hand lingering on his armor before she left. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”

A few breems later Ratchet came back to make Bulkhead recharge. He was glad because it meant he didn’t have to think any more.

—

Next morning he was up and doing exercises before anyone else was awake, even Optimus. He kept himself going through the next couple of days by promising that he would get better, for himself and for Miko. She really did like having the toughest member of Team Prime as her partner. Disgustingly enough, though, Smokescreen kept coming into the workout room to run around and punch things (usually making annoying “hyah!” noises) and be totally functional near Bulkhead. By the end of the week, Bulkhead just about wanted to smash the kid’s face in. He kept telling himself that that wasn’t fair; Smokescreen wasn’t doing it on purpose. He probably didn’t even know what he was doing to the only lame Autobot in the base. That didn’t make Bulkhead hate him any less.

The final straw was when Wheeljack came to visit.

Arcee had told him that Wheeljack came to see him as soon as he’d heard that his friend might be dying. Bulkhead hadn’t seen him at all since then, having been still offline when he left. Apparently he “didn’t want to see Bulkhead like this,” which was kind of a slap in the faceplate. Of course he wouldn’t want to see Bulkhead disabled, because he didn’t want to pity his former partner. Their relationship had been built on Wrecking, no more and no less. After he thought about that long enough Bulkhead went to sit under the generator on the lowest level for about a joor.

But Jackie did come back. Miko, who had been in the main control room to greet him, said he was looking for Bulkhead. Bulkhead told her to go away, and she could tell Jackie that Bulkhead wasn’t looking for him. She punched him on the leg and left.

About two breems later he regretted everything and dragged himself back to the upper level, where Wheeljack’s presence had caused an impromptu party to form. Jackie was lobbing with Bee and Smokescreen, shouting a war story at the rookie across the room, and everyone was laughing. Then Miko spotted him. “Hey, Bulk! Finally come to join the party?” Everyone looked at him, and the room went quiet. Primus.

“Uh, don’t mind me. I’ll just sit over here and listen.” He practically fell onto the floor at the far side of the room, and met Ratchet’s disapproving gaze more so he wouldn’t have to look at Wheeljack than anything else. Still, he didn’t miss how Jackie glanced his way before going on with his story. He also couldn’t help but notice how interested Smokescreen was. Well, he would worship any Wrecker who could still kick ‘Con tailpipe. A little voice inside Bulkhead suggested that Smokescreen would probably like him, too, if he told war stories instead of moping. He told it to shut up.

A while later Jackie came over to sit by him, looking a little awkward. He didn’t speak for a while, clearly not knowing what to say. So Bulkhead broke the silence for him. “How’s it been, wandering around the planet? You getting enough energon?”

Jackie laughed. “Please, Bulkhead. ‘Con mines all over the place, and they’re not exactly hard to knock over. Besides, if I’m ever really strapped for fuel I can always come back here. Prime’d never refuse a bot in need.”

“Come visit more often. We can always use an extra hand, especially if it has a sword in it.”

This seemed to give Wheeljack the opening he’d been waiting for. “Look, Bulk, how’re you handling it? Hope I don’t have to worry about my favorite Wrecker getting depressed.”

“Nah, you know me. You look up optimism in the dictionary and it’s got my picture next to it.” Jackie squinted at him, confused. “I, uh, guess that saying doesn’t translate real well into Cybertronian.”

“You got good humans, but some of the stuff they do makes no sense.”

Bulkhead laughed. “Tell me about it. Did you know, Miko told me—”

“Hey, Wheeljack, you gonna sit around all day, or you gonna lob?” They both looked around to see Smokescreen standing over them with the ball of scrap metal in his hand.

“You gonna be arright, Bulk?”

“Yeah, go have fun. I might just go and recharge.”

“Suit yourself,” said Wheeljack with a shrug. He turned to see Smokescreen offering a hand to help him up, grunted softly, and took it. Seconds later he had stolen the ball and passed it to Bumblebee. Bulkhead scowled and got painfully to his feet, then limped off to find his berth.

—

Strangely enough, Wheeljack started visiting more often. He even went on a couple of patrols for Optimus, which everyone agreed was a little suspicious. Well, everyone except Smokescreen, who was usually the one going on patrol with him. What was it, Bulkhead wondered. Was it that Smokescreen had chosen a flashy little car as his alt mode too? Was it that Jackie was enjoying having someone who admired him? Primus—he was starting to feel a little sick thinking about it—was it that he liked having someone new and whole to spar with? Someone who could pull moves Jackie had never seen?

Bulkhead got his answer one day when he walked into what he thought was an empty control room, only to hear their voices. And they weren’t exactly having a normal conversation.

“So, Smokescreen, mind finally showing me what’s under that pretty finish?”

“Aw, come on, Jack, you’ll make me blush.”

“Blush? Humans’ve had more influence on you than I thought.”

“I like their language. I never quite understand what it’s—hey!”

Wheeljack chuckled. “Can’t take that, huh?”

“What? No, I just wasn’t expecting, um. _Oh. Wow._ Do that again.”

Bulkhead turned off his audio receptors and just stood there in the hallway leading out of the control room. His brain module was numb, and so was his spark. He hated to admit it, but Jackie wasn’t _technically_ his boyfriend—he hadn’t been since Bulkhead left the Wreckers. But it still felt like a betrayal to hear him... being so intimate with the kid who had already taken Bulkhead’s friends and place on the team. He tried to tell himself that Jackie had always been pretty free with his affections. Pit, he’d interfaced with every single Wrecker who ever shared the team with him, besides Ultra Magnus, who probably didn’t count. This was different, though.

He was still trying to figure out exactly how it was different, aside from the fact that he _hated_ Smokescreen like he’d never hated another Wrecker, when the rookie himself wandered out into the hallway. He looked a little dazed, but happy. Sonofaglitch. When Bulkhead turned his audio receptors back on he could hear Smokescreen’s cooling fans whirring loudly. Only when he was about to bump into Bulkhead did Smokescreen seem to notice him.

“Oh! Uh, hey, Bulkhead. Weird place to be hanging out at night.”

“I was going to see if Ratchet was in here,” Bulkhead growled. “Needed to ask him a question.”

“Oh, well, he’s not. He’s probably in the medical bay.”

“I noticed.”

Apparently Smokescreen finally got it, because his fans kicked up another notch in embarrassment. “Uh. Did you hear that whole thing?”

“Not the whole thing, no. I turned off my audials to give you two some _privacy_. But I know how it goes with Jackie.”

“Wow, do you?” He looked more interested than intimidated, even though he was about half Bulkhead’s weight. “Have you, um…?”

“Yeah, I have. Seen him get his servos into a lot of clueless rookies,” said Bulkhead viciously. “I think the one that lasted the longest was this kid, what was his name? Blades, I think. Cute little hothead combiner. Never was the same after that week.” That hit home, he could tell: Smokescreen took a little step back, and his face finally lost that smug smile.

“Week?” he asked in a small voice. “You think he’s going to leave me?”

As much as he hated the kid, the tiny part of Bulkhead’s brain that was still working rationally pitied him. He really looked like his spark had just broken in two, and, well, Bulkhead kind of knew how that felt. “Probably, yeah. I mean, what’s a guy like him want with a kid like you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look at you.” Bulkhead gestured at Smokescreen. He couldn’t stop himself now. 

Smokescreen blinked at him, offended but unable to think of any kind of reply. “I’m... I’m gonna go to recharge,” he mumbled, and practically ran past Bulkhead. 

Bulkhead sank down against the wall as the guilt caught up with him. He should have just let things take their course, let the kid have a couple of happy days before he got his spark broken. He was just too afraid that Jackie really would choose Smokescreen, when he hadn’t made any move to take Bulkhead back the entire time they’d both been on this planet.

“I’m a coward,” he muttered into his hands. “And a Wrecker till the end. ‘Cons, Autobots, what does it matter?”

—

Later he found out what had happened from Smokescreen, who knocked outside Bulkhead’s quarters in the middle of the night a few days later. 

“Come in,” he grunted, concentrating on getting his leg straight. He was definitely getting better; it hardly hurt at all now, even though it was still difficult. He stopped short when Smokescreen walked in, an unreadable look on his face.

“Well, I talked to Wheeljack.” Words to make the energon run cold in the fuel lines. “I told him what you said, and he said he _did_ have a lot of flings, but he could do long-term relationships if he wanted to. Said you and he were together for a long time.”

Bulkhead sat up with a heavy sigh from his vents. “Pretty much the whole time we were both Wreckers. I thought maybe, since he was back on Earth… Look, I’m sorry.” He had to say it. “I was jealous. You got everything I had to work to keep, had it handed right to you. You’re great at strategy, you’re likeable, and most of all you can fight.”

“Uh. I’m not great at this whole feelings thing, but thanks for saying that? I still don’t know if I should be mad about you telling me about Jack’s whole thing. Like, I guess I should be, ‘cause you did it to hurt me? But it’s kinda hard ‘cause I know exactly how you feel.”

Bulkhead tried not to look up as quickly as he wanted to. “You do?”

“Yeah. You know, how he’s so...” 

Bulkhead nodded. He got it. “He’s still my best friend,” he said after a little while. “I didn’t know if he’d want to be after I left him all those vorns ago. But when he showed up—”

“Wait wait wait. _You_ left _him_? Are you _crazy_?”

Bulkhead chuckled. “A little. I mean, I left the Wreckers, not him, but it ended up the same. I don’t think he wanted me to know he still cared.”

“I don’t think he wanted me to know that happened at all.” Smokescreen looked thoughtful now. Bulkhead couldn’t remember when he’d stopped hating the kid, even though it had probably been some time in that last few breems.

“Wreckers don’t have feelings. They kind of get in the way of the job. And some Wreckers, well, they don’t change.”

“Listen, I think all three of us should talk this out. You two have a history, and lots of complicated stuff I don’t get. That’s fine. But I still want to be there.”

Bulkhead finally managed a smile, imagining how that was likely to go. “We’ll have to ambush him, maybe tie him down so he can’t get away. Bot really doesn’t like to talk about his feelings.”

Smokescreen laughed and punched Bulkhead on the shoulder. “Deal. I’ll bait the trap, and you can be the rope.”

—

For such a crafty guy, Jackie could be pretty dumb. He didn’t suspect a thing when Smokescreen took him out on patrol right after Bulkhead left base. He didn’t even have time to do more than transform back into his root mode before Bulkhead crashed into him, pushing him clear off the road.

“All right, what’s going on?” he asked, obviously trying to pretend this was some kind of funny joke. His eyes widened when he saw Smokescreen stroll out from behind Bulkhead, smirking. “You’re in on this?”

“It is our solemn duty as your friends to pull your head out of your tailpipe, Jack.”

“Frag you guys! Lemme up!”

Bulkhead just smiled, and tapped his knuckles on Jackie’s breastplate. “Not till we’re done talking.” He waited until most of the tension left Jackie, and he stopped looking like he was going to try and fight back, and then continued. “I’ve been stupid and scared, and I never asked how things were between us when you came back to Earth. Didn’t want to push you.”

“We’re fine, Bulkhead. We’ve always been fine.”

“You’re mad I left the Wreckers, and you’re mad I left you, and you’re mad at yourself for being mad.”

He rolled his optics thoroughly before conceding, “Fine, I’m mad. What does this have to do with Smokescreen?”

“It has to do with me because you’re not over Bulk and he’s not over you. This whole stupid thing started because he was jealous.”

“Hey!”

“No secrets, right?” Smokescreen walked over to sit on Wheeljack’s arm. “The thing is, I still don’t know what we are, Jack. Are we together? Am I another fling you’ll get tired of in a week?”

“I don’t know! I don’t plan this stuff.”

“Well, maybe you should start.”

“I don’t know what your deal is. You and me can just do our thing, and Bulkhead can…” He seemed to regret starting the sentence halfway through as he looked up at Bulkhead.

Smokescreen scowled. “You’ve never understood this kind of thing. What say we give him a lesson, Bulk?”

“What?” Before Bulkhead could do more than look around, confused, Smokescreen was kissing him. It was pretty awkward with Bulkhead’s huge lower jaw, but… how did he get so good?

Smokescreen pulled away and looked down at Wheeljack with a grin. “How does it feel? Experiencing jealousy for the first time?”

Bulkhead, dazed, sat on top of his best friend. All that was going through his head was _huh?_ until Smokescreen waved a hand in front of his face. “Bulkhead?”

“Okay, you really shouldn’t do that kind of thing without permission. I think Jackie’s been a bad influence on you.” Smokescreen looked at him in surprise. “But you can do it again if you want.”

“What in the _Pit_?” Wheeljack shouted. “Do you really have to do that while you’re sitting on my chest?”

Bulkhead and Smokescreen looked at each other, both barely holding in laughter. “Yeah, Jackie, I reckon we do,” said Bulkhead, and pulled Smokescreen in again.

It took a while, but eventually Jackie came around. After that, things were a lot more fun.


End file.
